As computers and computer networks become more and more able to access a variety of information, people are demanding more ways to obtain that information. Specifically, people now expect to have access, on the road, in the home, or in the office, to information previously available only from a permanently-connected personal computer hooked to an appropriately provisioned network. They want the latest news from their cell phones, e-mail from their personal digital assistants (PDAs), and up-to-date documents from their palm tops. They also want all of this information when traveling, whether locally, domestically, or internationally, in an easy-to-use, portable device.
Portability generally requires a device small in size, which in turn limits the screen area available for displaying content. This limitation may require the portable device to reduce text and images within documents to an illegible or unrecognizable state when displayed on a small screen. Alternatively, a document may be displayed at a larger size, but a user must scroll to see some parts of the document.
Current systems may magnify an area of the document with a software magnifier. For example, a user may drag a magnifying glass cursor over a section of a word processing document the user wants to see in greater detail. The area around the magnifying icon is enlarged. Enlarging the document with a magnifier, however, requires the user to manipulate the magnifying icon, which may be difficult on portable devices with small screens and input devices. Additionally, the magnifying software is installed on the device that is enlarging the document. Portable devices are often constrained by memory and processing capabilities, which may make the storage and execution of the magnifying software on the portable device undesirable.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.